Brown's joke writer

The joke Gordon Brown repeatedly borrows from Ronald Reagan (Shortcuts, G2, June 11) was borrowed in turn by Reagan. Its origins lie in the blacklist era of the late 1940s when Harry Warner told a Warner Brothers producer to sack a scriptwriter suspected of leftwing sympathies. "But he's an anti-communist," the producer said. "I don't care what kind of communist he is," Warner growled. "Fire him."
Tom Dewe MathewsLondon

Jackie Ashley (Comment, June 11) writes of Diane Abbott: "Her television performances with Michael Portillo probably turn more young people on to politics than a hundred mugged-up speeches". Perhaps. But in the unlikely event of any young people watching their "performances", they would have difficulty deciding which one was the Tory.David HollandDoncaster, South Yorkshire

Rob Blundell (Letters, June 12) confuses cause with enable. The price of drink has not caused the booze culture that has persisted in this country for centuries. After all, it was not just the cheapness of gin that blighted the lives of so many Victorian working-class people but mostly the misery of grinding poverty.Colin FarrellWhitstable, Kent

Kathryn Hughes asks "Where did this cow live before it ended up on your fork?" (Comment, June 12). In fact the cow is kept to bear calves and give milk, and is most likely to end up in cat food. It is the castrated male bovine, the bullock, which is to be found for sale as beef.Philip FoxeLondon

The 1688 insurrection (Letters, June 9) started the year before in Saffron Walden, where it was duly celebrated last month. Martyn Everett's book Saffron Walden and the Civil War (Ragged Robin Press) describes the local events in 1687, including the soldiers' debates in the church.Norman BaileySaffron Walden, Essex

Keith Flett can (and doubtless does) keep his own tally of letters published in the Guardian (Letters, June 11). For the record, my letter that you published in the 50,000th issue was my 150th.Peter BarnesMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire